Luminaire with electrochromic film reflector

ABSTRACT

A luminaire includes a lightguide panel that is configured to receive light from a light source through an edge thereof and emit light through major surfaces thereof. Further, the luminaire includes an electrochromic film that is disposed on one of the major surfaces of the lightguide panel to adjust an amount of light exiting through the one major surface by controlling an opacity of the electrochromic film. The opacity of the electrochromic film is controlled by controlling an electrical power supplied thereto. In another example, the electrochromic film is disposed on a major surface of a lens that is disposed below and spaced apart from a light source that emits light in a first direction. The opacity of the electrochromic film is controlled by controlling the electrical power supplied thereto to adjust an amount of light that is reflected by the lens to a second direction.

RELATED APPLICATIONS AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application is a continuation application of and claimspriority to U.S. Nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 16/664,632,filed Oct. 25, 2019 and titled “Luminaire with Electrochromic FilmReflector,” which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/751,216 filed Oct. 26, 2018 and titled “Luminaire withElectrochromic Film Reflector.” The entire contents of each of theforegoing applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to lightingsystems, and more particularly to luminaires having electrochromic filmreflectors to control light emission and distribution.

BACKGROUND

Conventional light sources, such as incandescent, fluorescent, or HIDlight sources, are typically omnidirectional, i.e., they emit light in360 degrees or nearly 360 degrees. Accordingly, when a conventionallight source is disposed in a light fixture such as a suspension mountedluminaire, the conventional light source creates both downlight anduplight. However, the lighting industry has been moving towardsreplacing conventional light sources with light emitting diodes (LEDs)largely due to the efficiency and longer life advantages of the LEDs.One limitation of LEDs is that they are not omnidirectional lightsources, i.e., they do not emit light in 360 degrees as the conventionallight sources. Instead, LEDs generally emit light in the direction thatthey are aimed and may fail to create light in an opposite direction,unless a customized housing or a light re-direction device is used toredirect at least a portion of the light from the LEDs towards theopposite direction. As one example, in a suspension mounted luminaire,LEDs that are aimed downwards to create a downlight may fail to createan uplight, unless the suspension mounted luminaire includes acustomized housing, light re-direction features, and/or other LEDs thatare aimed upwards to create the uplight. The absence of uplight maycreate an undesirable “cave effect”, in which the ceiling and spaceabove the luminaire are dark.

Some example luminaires such as flat panel luminaires having lightguidesthat are edge-lit using LEDs may be able generate both an uplight and adownlight. However, said flat panel luminaires do not allow an end userto configure, control, and/or vary the amount of uplight. Further,conventional flat panel luminaires may have a high visual mass, i.e.,they are more noticeable, which may not be aesthetically pleasing.

Alternatively, in some scenarios, it may be desirable to make theconventional flat panel luminaires more noticeable. For example, whenconventional flat panel luminaires comprising transparent or nearlytransparent lightguide panels are used to illuminate a pathway, it maybe desirable to make the conventional flat panel luminaires morenoticeable or visible. In said example, at night, the light emitted bythe said luminaires may be visible and may clearly illuminate thepathway. However, during daytime, the luminaires and the light emittedtherefrom may be washed away by or not as visible due to sunlight (e.g.,particularly in outdoor installations) which may be undesirable.

This background information is provided to reveal information believedto be of possible relevance to the present disclosure. No admission isnecessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the precedinginformation constitutes prior art against the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates generally to using an electrochromic filmin a luminaire. In one example embodiment, a luminaire can comprise: alightguide panel that is configured to receive light from a light sourcethrough a side edge of the lightguide panel and emit the light through apair of major surfaces of the lightguide panel that are substantiallyperpendicular to the side edge; and an electrochromic film disposed on amajor surface of the pair of major surfaces of the lightguide panel andconfigured to control an amount of light emitted from the major surfaceby adjusting an electrical power supplied thereto.

In another example embodiment, a luminaire can comprise: a housingcomprising a light emitting opening; a light source that is disposed inthe housing and configured to emit light in a first direction; a lensthat is disposed in the housing such that the lens is positioned belowand spaced apart from the light source, the lens covering the lightemitting opening; and an electrochromic film disposed on a major surfaceof the lens that faces the light source, the electrochromic filmconfigured to control an amount of the light from the light source thatis directed to a second direction by adjusting an electrical powersupplied to the electrochromic film, the second direction being oppositeto the first direction.

These and other example embodiments will be described herein inconnection with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The foregoing and other features and aspects of the present disclosureare best understood with reference to the following description ofcertain example embodiments, when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example edge-lit luminaire with an electrochromicfilm reflector, in accordance with example embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 2-3 illustrate an example back-lit luminaire with anelectrochromic film reflector, in accordance with example embodiments ofthe present disclosure; and

FIG. 4 illustrates yet another example luminaire with an electrochromicfilm reflector, where the luminaire is disposed along a pathway to guidea user along the pathway, in accordance with example embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

The drawings illustrate only example embodiments of the presentdisclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope,as the present disclosure may admit to other equally effectiveembodiments. The elements and features shown in the drawings are notnecessarily to scale, instead emphasis is placed on clearly illustratingthe principles of the example embodiments. Additionally, certaindimensions or positions may be exaggerated to help visually convey suchprinciples.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure describes a luminaire that has an electrochromicfilm reflector that is configured to provide selective uplight from theluminaire and/or to change a diffusion or distribution of a lens orlightguide panel of a luminaire without having to manually adjust orreplace the lens or lightguide panel. An electrochromic film is anoptical film having electrochromic properties that allow one or moreoptical properties of the film, such as color, optical transmission,absorption, reflectance and/or emittance to be controlled in a continualbut reversible manner by application of voltage. That is, theelectrochromic film can be switched from being opaque to transparent orfrom being transparent to opaque in a reversible manner when electricalpower is applied or removed. In some examples, the electrochromic filmcan change between being colored and transparent or change betweendifferent colors when electrical power is applied or removed. In thepresent disclosure, this property of electrochromic films is used inluminaires such as flat panel luminaires or on an optical lens to adjustan amount of uplight in the luminaires and/or to control a visibilitythereof.

In the following paragraphs, a luminaire with the electrochromic filmreflector will be described in further detail by way of examples withreference to the attached drawings. In the description, well-knowncomponents, methods, and/or processing techniques are omitted or arebriefly described so as not to obscure the disclosure. As used herein,the “present disclosure” refers to any one of the embodiments of thedisclosure described herein and any equivalents. Furthermore, referenceto various feature(s) of the “present disclosure” is not to suggest thatall embodiments must include the referenced feature(s).

In particular, example embodiments of the luminaire with theelectrochromic film reflector (hereinafter interchangeably referred toas ‘electrochromic film’) of the present disclosure will be described inassociation with FIGS. 1-4. Referring to FIG. 1, an example luminaire100 of the present disclosure includes a lightguide panel 102 that isbound by a first major surface 102 a, a second major surface 102 b thatis disposed opposite to the first major surface 102 a, and a pluralityof side edges (102 c-102 f) that are substantially perpendicular to thetwo major surfaces (102 a, 102 b). In some example embodiments, thelightguide panel 102 may be formed using a plastic optical material suchas PMMA acrylic, polystyrene, or optical grade polycarbonate, to mentiona few representative examples without limitation. In some exampleembodiments, the lightguide panel 102 may comprise silicone or anotherappropriate elastomer. The lightguide panel 102 may be configured toreceive light from a light source through at least one of the side edges(102 c-102 f) and emit at least a portion of the light through the firstmajor surface 102 a and/or the second major surface 102 b. Accordingly,the first major surface 102 a and the second major surface 102 b of thelightguide panel 102 may include surface patterns to allow the light toexit therethrough. The surface patterns may include micro optics suchas, but not limited to, microetches, microlenses, etc. In some examples,the lightguide panel 102 may include micro-prisms disposed therein toemit light through the major surfaces (102 a, 102 b).

The lightguide panel 102 may be configured to propogate the lighttherethrough by total or partial internal reflection of the lightbetween the first and second major surfaces (102 a, 102 b). The lightentering the lightguide panel 102 through one side edge of thelightguide panel 102 may be propagated towards an opposite side edge. Insome example embodiments, a portion of the light may exit the lightguidepanel 102 through the side edges (e.g., side edge opposite to the sidefrom which light from the light source enters the lightguide panel 102),while in other example embodiments, reflective material may be disposedat the side edges to reflect the light reaching the side edges back intothe lightguide panel 102. Light that is emitted into the lightguidepanel 102 at relatively shallow angles undergoes total internalreflection and proceeds towards one or more of the side edges, while thelight at steeper angles is emitted through the major surfaces (102 a,102 b).

In one example embodiment such as the one illustrated in FIG. 1, thelightguide panel 102 may be transparent to reduce a visual mass of theluminaire 100, particularly when the lightguide panel 102 is notpropagating light from a light source therethrough. However, in otherexample embodiments, the lightguide panel may be translucent or opaquewhile still being able to propagate light from a light sourcetherethrough and emit a portion of the light through the major surfaces.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the lightguide panel 102 may bedisposed and held between a pair of side rails (104 a, 104 b) of theexample luminaire 100. In particular, the side rails (104 a, 104 b)support opposite side edges (102 d, 1020 of the lightguide panel 102 asillustrated in FIG. 1. Further, at least one of the side rails (104 aand/or 104 b) may house a light source 106 of the example luminaire 100therein such that light from the light source 106 enters the lightguidepanel 102 through the respective side edges (102 d and/or 1020 of thelightguide panel 102 that are supported by the side rails (104 a, 104b). As described above, light from the light source 106 that enters thelightguide panel 102 via the side edges (102 d, 1020 exits thelightguide through the two major surfaces (102 a, 102 b). The lightsource 106 may be disposed on a substrate such as a circuit board andmay include, but is not limited to, light emitting diodes (LEDs),fluorescent tubes, or any other appropriate light source, etc.

Even though the example luminaire 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 issubstantially rectilinear in shape, one of skill in the art canunderstand and appreciate that in other example embodiments, theluminaire can have any other appropriate shape without departing from abroader scope of the present disclosure. For example, the luminaire mayhave a substantially circular or cylindrical shape, where the lightguidepanel 102 and the side rail are similarly substantially circular orcylindrical in shape.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the example luminaire 100 may includean electrochromic film 108 that is disposed on one of the two majorsurfaces (102 a or 102 b) of the lightguide panel 102. In particular,the electrochromic film 108 may be disposed on the major surface thatfaces a direction that is opposite to the primary area that is to beilluminated, e.g., first major surface 102 a that faces a ceiling whenthe luminaire 100 is suspension mounted. The electrochromic film 108 maybe disposed on the major surface (102 a or 102 b) of the lightguidepanel 102 using adhesives or any appropriate coupling or attachmentwithout departing from a broader scope of the present disclosure.

In one example embodiment, the electrochromic film 108 may be configuredto transition from being opaque when power is applied to theelectrochromic film 108 to being transparent when power is removed fromthe electrochromic film 108, or vice-versa. In said example embodiment,the opacity of the electrochromic film 108 can be varied with the amountof power applied to the electrochromic film 108. That is, the opacity ofthe electrochromic film can be dynamically controlled based on theamount of power (or changing the voltage) applied to the electrochromicfilm 108.

In another example embodiment, the electrochromic film 108 may beconfigured to transition from being colored when power is applied to theelectrochromic film 108 to being transparent when power is removed fromthe electrochromic film 108, or transition between different colors whenpower is applied to the electrochromic film 108 to being transparentwhen power is removed from the electrochromic film 108, or vice-versa.The electrochromic film 108 may transition between different colorsbased on the amount of power (or voltage) applied to the electrochromicfilm 108. Alternatively, the electrochromic film 108 may be configuredto transition from a first color when electrical power is appliedthereto to a second color when the electrical power is removedtherefrom.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the power supplied to the light source 106 andthe electrochromic film 108 may be independently controlled. That is,the power supplied to the electrochromic film 108 may be controlled by afirst power control device 110 a and the power supplied to the lightsource 106 may be controlled by a second power control device 110 b thatis independent of the first power control device 110 a. The first andsecond power control devices (110 a, 110 b) may include, but are notlimited to, voltage regulators, or any other appropriate devices thatcan control the voltage and/or the amount of electrical power suppliedto the electrochromic film and light source.

Further, the power control devices (110 a and/or 110 b) may be coupledto a controller device 112. The controller device 112 may include, butis not limited to, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), or any other appropriate device that canreceive data and generate control instructions for the power controldevices (110 a, 110 b). The controller device 112 may include acommunication module, e.g., a wireless communication module that allowsa user to establish wireless communication with the controller device112 via a computing device of the user or via a control switch (wallswitch). In some example embodiments, the controller device 112 may alsobe communicably coupled to a switch (e.g., a wall switch) via a wiredconnection. In either case, the controller device 112 may be configuredto receive instructions (data) from a user and responsively generatecontrol data for transmission to the power control devices (110 a, 110b) to control the electrical power supplied to the electrochromic film108 and the light source 106. In other words, if the controller device112 has a wireless communication module, a user may electronically andwirelessly control the uplight, downlight, light distribution, etc.,from the luminaire 100 by controlling the electrochromic film 108 (e.g.,opaqueness, color, etc., thereof) from a remote location.

In one example embodiment, the power to the light source 106 and theelectrochromic film 108 disposed on the lightguide panel 102 may beindependently controlled by the first and second power control devices(110 a, 110 b) such that: (a) when the light source 106 is switched on,power is supplied to the electrochromic film 108 to make theelectrochromic film 108 opaque; and (b) when the light source 106 isswitched off, power to the electrochromic film 108 is turned off to makethe electrochromic film 108 transparent. When the light source isswitched off, the transparent lightguide panel 102 may provide a lowvisual mass (i.e., it is less noticeable) and may be more aestheticallypleasing. Conventional flat panel luminaires use dedicated reflectorpanels, e.g., metal, plastic, or paper sheets, that are disposed on themajor surface of the lightguide panel facing the ceiling. Such dedicatedreflector panels do not allow any uplight to pass therethrough andfurther, they increase a visual mass of the luminaire because they arenot transparent when the light source 106 is switched off. When thelight source 106 is turned on, the opacity of the electrochromic film108 may be controlled or adjusted based on the amount of uplight anddownlight that is desired by the end user. For example, if no uplight isdesired, then, the electrochromic film 108 may be made opaque to amaximum possible level. The opaque electrochromic film 108 may reflectsubstantially all the light exiting the lightguide panel 102 through thefirst major surface 102 a back into the lightguide panel 102 to exit asdownlight towards an area to be illuminated (e.g., through the secondmajor surface 102 b). However, if some uplight is desired, then, theopacity of the electrochromic film 108 may be adjusted by adjusting thepower supplied to the electrochromic film 108 such that a portion of thelight exiting the lightguide panel 102 through the first major surface102 a may be allowed to pass through the electrochromic film 108 tocreate an uplight, while a remainder of the light exiting through thefirst major surface 102 b may be reflected back into the lightguidepanel 102 to exit as downlight.

By controlling the amount of power supplied to the electrochromic film108, a user may be able to dynamically adjust the opacity of theelectrochromic film 108 and thereby dynamically adjust the amount ofuplight produced by the luminaire 100. That is, the amount of uplightprovided by the luminaire 100 may be adjusted along a gradient orcontinuum from a minimum amount of uplight to a maximum amount ofuplight, where in one example, the minimum amount of uplight may be 0%of the amount of light from the light source 106 that enters thelightguide panel 102 and a maximum amount of uplight may be 50% of theamount of light from the light source 106 that enters the lightguidepanel 102 (the other 50% may exit as downlight) (assuming no other lightloss). In other example embodiments, the lightguide panel 102 may bedesigned to allow more than 50% of the amount of light from the lightsource 106 that enters the lightguide panel 102 to exit the lightguidepanel 102 as uplight. In some example embodiments, the power to thelight source 106 and the electrochromic film 108 may be controlled suchthat when the light source 106 is switched on, the power supply to theelectrochromic film 108 may be turned off to make the electrochromicfilm 108 transparent and thereby create a maximum amount of uplightwhile also providing downlight.

Even though the present disclosure describes that the power to the lightsource 106 and the electrochromic film 108 are controlled such that:when the light source 106 is switched on, the electrochromic film 108 ismade opaque; and when the light source 106 is switched off, theelectrochromic film is made transparent, one of skill in the art canunderstand and appreciate that in other example embodiments, theelectrochromic film 108 may be made transparent when the light source isswitched on, and the electrochromic film 108 may be made opaque when thelight source is switched off without departing from a broader scope ofthe present disclosure. Further, in some example embodiments, the powerto the light source 106 and the electrochromic film 108 may becontrolled jointly by one power control device instead of beingcontrolled independently using different power control devices (110 a,110 b).

Further, even though the present disclosure describes one electrochromicfilm being disposed on the lightguide panel, one of skill in the art canunderstand and appreciate that in other example embodiments of thepresent disclosure, more than one electrochromic film may be disposed onthe lightguide panel without departing from a broader scope of thepresent disclosure. For example, the luminaire may include oneelectrochromic film disposed on the first major surface of thelightguide panel and another electrochromic film disposed on the secondmajor surface. In said example, the first electrochromic film may beconfigured to operate as described above, while the secondelectrochromic film may be configured to transition between differentcolors when power is applied and be transparent when power is removed.Further, in said example, the second electrochromic film may besubstantially shaped like an arrow such that during an emergency, powermay be applied to the second electrochromic film to form a colored(e.g., red or green) arrow to indicate an escape path or path to thenearest exit. In said example, the first and second electrochromic filmmay be independently controlled.

Furthermore, even though the present disclosure describes theelectrochromic film being disposed on a lightguide panel in a flat panelluminaire, one of skill in the art can understand and appreciate that inother example embodiments, the electrochromic film may be disposed onany other appropriate element of any other appropriate luminaire toprovide selective uplight without departing from a broader scope of thepresent disclosure. For example, the electrochromic film may be disposedon a plastic reflector in a drum light fixture. The drum light fixturemay be suspension mounted and may include a light source and a plasticreflector disposed above the light source. The plastic reflector may beclear and may have an electrochromic film disposed thereon. Powersupplied to the electrochromic film disposed on the plastic reflectormay be adjusted to control the amount of uplight in the drum lightfixture.

Additionally, even though the present disclosure describes thelightguide panel with the electrochromic film reflector 108 as beingused in an edge-lit flat panel luminaire, one of skill in the art canunderstand and appreciate that the electrochromic film may be used withany other type of luminaire without departing from a broader scope ofthe present disclosure. For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 2-3, anelectrochromic film may be used in a back-lit luminaire 200.

Referring to FIGS. 2-3, the luminaire 200 may include a housing 202 thatis configured to house a lens 201 therein. The lens 201 may be atransparent lens and may have an electrochromic film 208 disposedthereon. In other example embodiments, the lens may be opaque ortranslucent. The lens 201 may be arranged in the housing 202 such thatthe lens 201 is disposed over and covers a light emitting opening 204 ofthe housing 202. Further, the housing 202 is configured to house a lightsource 206 therein such that the light source 206 is disposed below andspaced apart from the lens 201. The light source 206 may include one ormore LEDs that face downward towards the lens 201 to emit light downtowards the lens 201 and the light emitting opening 204. Theelectrochromic film 208 may be disposed on a major surface of the lens201 that faces the light source 206. Similar to the example embodimentdescribed above in connection with FIG. 1, the light source 206 and theelectrochromic film reflector 208 may be controlled independently.

In the example embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2-3, the electrochromicfilm 208 may be an opaque film in its default state, i.e., when power isnot applied to the electrochromic film 208. The opacity of theelectrochromic film 208 may be reduced when power is applied thereto.With the application of power to the electrochromic film 208, theopacity thereof may be changed from being fully opaque to beingpartially opaque and then fully transparent. As illustrated in FIG. 2,when the electrochromic film reflector 208 is opaque, i.e., when poweris not applied to the electrochromic film 208, 100% uplight is gained.That is, as illustrated in FIG. 2 by the ray traces 207 of the lightemitted by the light source 206, when the electrochromic film 208 isopaque, all the light emitted by the light source 206 may be reflectedupwards by the electrochromic film 208 to create the 100% uplight.However, when power is applied and the electrochromic film 208 ispartially opaque or transparent, a portion of the light emitted by thelight source 206 may be reflected upwards while a remainder portion maypass through the lens 201 to be emitted as downlight through the lightemitting opening 204 in the housing 202 as illustrated in FIG. 3. Usingan electrochromic film 208 that is opaque in the default state allowsthe lens 201 on which the electrochromic film reflector 208 is disposedto be more prominent or noticeable when the light source 206 is switchedoff, which may be desirable in some scenarios (e.g., to conceal thelight source and electrical components (wires, drivers, etc.)).Alternatively, the example embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2-3 and bemodified so that the electrochromic film 108 may be a transparent filmin its default state, i.e., when power is not applied to theelectrochromic film reflector 108; and the opacity thereof is increasedwhen power is applied thereto.

Referring to FIG. 4, this figure illustrates an example scenario or usecase in which luminaires 402 are configured to illuminate the path 404to guide a user in a desired direction. As illustrated in FIG. 4, theluminaires 402 may be disposed along the path 404 such that the lightemitted by the luminaires 402 illuminates the path 404 and/or indicatesa direction in which a user must proceed along the path 404. Theluminaires 402 may include lightguide panel based luminaires, where thelightguide panel that is used in the luminaires 402 may be a transparentor a nearly transparent lightguide panel. In one example embodiment, thelightguide panel of the luminaires 402 may include an electrochromicfilm reflector disposed thereon, where the electrochromic film reflectormay be a lighter color reflector. Alternatively, the lightguide panel ofthe luminaires 402 may not include an electrochromic film reflector thatis disposed thereon. In either case, at night time when there is nodaylight, the light emitted by the luminaires 402 through the lightguidepanels thereof may clearly illuminate the path 404 and/or may indicate adirection in which a user should travel along the path 404. However,during daytime (e.g., on a sunny day), the light emitted from thelightguide panels of the luminaires 402 may be washed away by thedaylight thereby making the luminaires 402 and the light emittedtherefrom less visible. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the visibility of theluminaire 402 and/or the light emitted therefrom during the daytime maybe increased by disposing a darker color electrochromic film 408 on thelightguide panels of each luminaire 402. For example, red, green, black,or blue electrochromic films may be disposed on the lightguide panels tomake them more visible during the daytime. So, during the daytime, thedarker electrochromic film 408 may make the luminaire more visible toindicate the path 404 and/or a direction that a user should travel alongthe path 404; and during the nighttime, the darker electrochromic film408 may be made transparent such that light emitted from the luminaire402 may pass through the lightguide panel and the electrochromic film408 to illuminate the path 404.

An example of the scenario or use case illustrated in FIG. 4 may includea marathon where the streets are lined with the luminaires 402 havingthe darker electrochromic film 408 to indicate a path 404 and/or adirection in which the runners should run along the path 404 to reach afinishing point. Some of the luminaires 402 along some streets may havedark green electrochromic films 408 disposed thereon to indicate thatthe runners are going in the right direction, while some luminaires 402along the other streets may have red electrochromic films 408 disposedthereon to indicate that the runners are going in the wrong direction.Further, during nighttime, the red and green electrochromic films may bemade transparent such that light emitted from a light source may passthrough the lightguide panel and the electrochromic films of theluminaires 402 to light the streets and/or the path 404.

In some example embodiments, the electrochromic films 408 may betransparent in a default state, i.e., when power is not applied thereto,and the electrochromic films 408 may transition to dark green or redcolor when power is applied thereto. So, in the example described above,during the day, power may be applied to the transparent electrochromicfilms to transition them to a dark green or red color. Alternatively,the electrochromic films 408 may have a dark color in the default stateand may transition to being transparent when power is applied thereto.In other words, the electrochromic film 408 allows the luminaire 402 andthe light emitted therefrom to be made more visible or less visible asdesired, i.e., control a visibility of the luminaire 402 as desired.

Although example embodiments are described herein, it should beappreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications arewell within the scope and spirit of this disclosure. Those skilled inthe art will appreciate that the example embodiments described hereinare not limited to any specifically discussed application and that theembodiments described herein are illustrative and not restrictive. Fromthe description of the example embodiments, equivalents of the elementsshown therein will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, andways of constructing other embodiments using the present disclosure willsuggest themselves to practitioners of the art. Therefore, the scope ofthe example embodiments is not limited herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A luminaire comprising: a housing comprising afirst light emitting opening and at least one second light emittingopening; a light source that is disposed in the housing and configuredto emit light in a first direction; a lens that is disposed in thehousing such that the lens is positioned below and spaced apart from thelight source in the first direction, the lens covering the first lightemitting opening; and an electrochromic film disposed on a major surfaceof the lens, wherein the electrochromic film allows the light to passthrough the first light emitting opening in the first direction at afirst time; and at a second time, the electrochromic film reflects thelight in a second direction to pass through the at least one secondlight emitting opening.
 2. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the lightsource is at least one light emitting diode (LED), and wherein the atleast one LED is facing the first direction.
 3. The luminaire of claim1, wherein the light source is coupled to a first power control devicethat is configured to control a light source electric power that issupplied to the light source, and wherein the electrochromic film iscoupled to a second power control device that is configured to controlan electrical power that is supplied to the electrochromic film.
 4. Theluminaire of claim 3, wherein the first power control device iscontrolled independently of the second power control device.
 5. Theluminaire of claim 3, wherein at least the second power control deviceis coupled to a controller device that is configured to wirelesslyreceive instructions to control the electrochromic film to adjust theamount of the light from the light source that passes through the lens.6. The luminaire of claim 3, wherein at least the second power controldevice is coupled to a controller device that is configured towirelessly receive instructions to control the electrochromic film toadjust the amount of the light from the light source that is directed tothe second direction.
 7. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein theelectrochromic film is disposed on a major surface of the lens thatfaces the light source.
 8. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein theelectrochromic film is disposed on a major surface of the lens thatfaces away from the light source.
 9. The luminaire of claim 1, whereinthe luminaire is configured to be suspension mounted.
 10. The luminaireof claim 1, wherein the electrochromic film is configured to adjust anamount of light passing through the lens when an amount of electricalpower supplied to the electrochromic film is adjusted.
 11. The luminaireof claim 1, wherein the electrochromic film is configured to transitionbetween being opaque and being transparent when an amount of electricalpower supplied to the electrochromic film is adjusted.
 12. The luminaireof claim 1, wherein an opacity of the electrochromic film is adjustablewhen an amount of electrical power supplied to the electrochromic filmis adjusted.
 13. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the electrochromicfilm is configured to transition between being colored and beingtransparent when an amount of electrical power supplied to theelectrochromic film is adjusted.
 14. The luminaire of claim 1, whereinthe lens is a transparent lens.
 15. The luminaire of claim 1, where thelens is translucent.
 16. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein a lightsource power supplied to the light source is controlled independently ofthe electrical power supplied to the electrochromic film.
 17. Theluminaire of claim 1, wherein the light source and the electrochromicfilm are controlled such that: a. when the light source is switched off,the electrochromic film is transparent; and b. when the light source isswitched on, the electrical power supplied to the electrochromic film isadjusted.
 18. A luminaire comprising: a housing comprising a first lightemitting opening and at least one second light emitting opening; a lightsource that is disposed in the housing and configured to emit light in afirst direction, wherein such light includes a first portion and asecond portion; a lens that is disposed in the housing such that thelens is positioned below and spaced apart from the light source in thefirst direction, the lens covering the first light emitting opening; andan electrochromic film disposed on a major surface of the lens, whereinthe electrochromic film allows the first portion of the light to passthrough the first light emitting opening in the first direction, and theelectrochromic film reflects the second portion of the light in a seconddirection to pass through the at least one second light emittingopening; and the electrochromic film is configured to adjust an amountof light passing through the lens and an amount reflected to the seconddirection when the amount of electrical power supplied to theelectrochromic film is adjusted.
 19. The luminaire of claim 18, whereinthe first portion of light passing through the first light emittingopening provides downlighting and wherein the second portion of lightpassing through the at least one second light emitting opening providesuplighting, and wherein the downlighting and uplighting are providedsimultaneously.
 20. The luminaire of claim 18, wherein the light sourceis coupled to a first power control device that is configured to controla light source electric power that is supplied to the light source, andwherein the electrochromic film is coupled to a second power controldevice that is configured to control the electrical power that issupplied to the electrochromic film.